EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Just like employee loyalty, employee engagement is is another important factor to consider when employers aim at maintaining or increasing their retainment levels. There is no precise definition of what employee engagement is, but like loyalty, many authors have tried to clarify the main important aspects of what an engaged employee is.

Employee engagement is defined as the degree of an employees positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and to the organization. It is the willingness to learn and perform well at work, The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD, 2010). The institute further on describes engagement as being positively present during the

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performance of work, willingly contributing intellectual effort, expressing positive emotions and meaningful connections with others.

There is an increased awareness that employee engagement is pivotal to the successful commercial business performance where engaged employees are the backbone of the good working environments, where people are industrious, ethical and accountable (Cleland et al, 2008).

According to (Attridge, 2009), an engaged employee can be thought of as one who is fully involved in and is enthusiastic about their work. This employee acts in a way that advances the interests of the organization.

In addition, (CIPD, 2012) in another publication stated that employee engagement is a combination of commitment to the organization and its values plus the willingness to assist in the organization citizenship comprised of colleagues. The institution emphasises that engagement goes beyond job satisfaction and that it is not simply being motivated but it is something that an employee cannot be required to do as part of their employment contract.

In another study conducted by (Robinson et al, 2004), employee engagement is defined as an attitude held by the employee towards an organization and its values and that an engaged employee is aware of the business context and works with colleagues to improve the performance within the job for the benefit of the organization. In this sense,the organization must work to develop and ensure engagement which requires a two-way relationship between the employer and their employee.

Engagement can also be the harnessing of organizational member serves to their work roles in that engaged people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances (Kahn, 1990). In his analysis, (Kahn, 1992) further states that engagement is being psychologically present when occupying and performing an organizational role and that high levels of engagement can lead to positive outcomes for individuals like positive feelings associated with a job well done.

May (2004), says meaningfulness has the strongest relation to employee engagement when it comes to employee outcomes. He re-defines the definition by including a three-dimensional concept regarding engagement and within these three criteria being perceived, work engagement would be existent. These dimensions include physical, emotional and cognitive components.

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Nelson et al (2003), in a more positive approach, states that employee engagement is primarily concerned with the relationship between an individual and their actual job. The authors suggest that employee engagement is identified when employees feel positive emotions towards their work and find it meaningful personally, consider their workload to be manageable and are hopeful about their future work prospects.

Engagement is a positive attitude towards the actual job that is also volatile and a temporary phenomenon that is considered present when employees are emotionally and intellectually bound to their job roles (Rothwell, 2010).

Employee engagement is concerned with an individual’s psychological engagement with the job and is multifaceted by several characteristics at an organizational and individual level with a range of positive outcomes (Gullap, 2010) and (CIPD, 2010). Some of these primary characteristics include an are described in table 2 below; better performance, proactiveness, prolonged stay in an organization, a desire to be part of the team, able to go an extra mile and speak positively about the organization.

Figure 2. Primary characteristics of an engaged employee Source: CIPD, (2010), Own elaboration.

The elements mentioned above can be expanded on and explained in more precision. Aside from an employee performing better or being more productive, another element of

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importance in the primary characteristics of an engaged employee include an individual choosing to remain with an organization for a longer period of more than 5 years, emploring better levels of personal well-being, perceiving their workload to be more sustainable than others, speaking positively about their organization to their co-workers, potential customers and generally anyone they encounter who has a vested interest in that organization. Other characteristics include expressing a high desire to be part of an organization and lastly, going above and beyond, giving more effort to ensure the continued success of the organization.

Robinson (2004) pointed out that the key characteristics of engaged employees are a sense of involvement in the organizations decision making process and the feeling of being valued.

He stipulates that engaged employees are able to voice out their ideas and know that they do not go unnoticed by their line manager or superiors. Other characteristics include an employee having the opportunity to develop their work by providing suggestions as to how it should be undertaken, enhanced or improved.

Companies that enable their employees to be engaged create an alignment between individuals and the organizational goals. These type of employees are able to give discretionary effort over and above what is expected of them on the job.

In this sense, employee engagement is closely related to the idea of job satisfaction and that an employee positively benefits from having a job that is worth their time and effort at the same time, benefiting the organization through their performance by going an extra mile to continue archieving organizational success.

Penna (2007) and (Robinson, 2004), both suggested a model incorporating job satisfaction and employee engagement. They defined these two factors as correlated when employees felt valued, were given an opportunity for career growth and development and when the employer cared for their overall well-being. Combining all these elements results in employee engagement as shown in the figure below.

26 Figure 3. Job satisfaction and employee engagement Source: Robinson, (2004) and Penna, (2007).

To clearly elaborate the figure 3 above, when an employee feels valued, is granted an opportunity of training and development on the job, and when the employers show concern for the employees well-being, all these elements result in an employee being engaged.

a) Fell valued and have a good two-way communication between themselves and the management team.

b) Have great opportunities for development and training because they ensure that employees are satisfied with the job and that they create a positive influence.

c) Have the opportunity to develop on the job by suggesting how work is conducted, enhanced and improved.

d) The extent to which the organization is concerned about the well-being and health of its employees be it in a physical, mental or emotional state.

Employee engagement is closely related to job satisfaction and organisational commitment but there is a key distinction made between the two (Johns and Harter, 2005). The authors state that the attitudinal experience of commitment occurs apart from or as a consequence of day-to-day activity while engagement is developed and sustained through work and the interaction with managers and co-workers.

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With engagement, employees display high levels of commitment and therefore, it is important to note that not all committed employees are engaged. (Meyer and Alen, 1991) identified three main types of commitment namely normative or moral, affective and continuance commitment. The normative is a situation where an employee who does not believe in the values and goals of an organization feel that they ought to be committed to the organization (Nickson et al, 2008).

The continuance is a situation where an employee chooses to stay with an organization as long as they consider the benefits of staying outweigh those of leaving. Usually, in cases such as the one described above, the employee has not been able to find any job alternatives so they choose to stay. Lastly, the effective type is associated with commitment because the employee feels an emotional attachement with the organization (Silverman, 2004).

Engagement is a positive attitude to help by employees towards the organisation and its values (Robison, 2004). The further goes on to say that an engaged employee is one who is actively aware of the business context, cooperates with colleagues to ensure continued performance of the organization.

The three main elements of engagement are that its measurable, it varies from poor to great and it can be correlated with performance. Employers have to realize that they have an satisfaction and involvement, organizational commitment and the feeling of empowerment.

As mentioned before, engagement goes beyond job satisfaction and it is not motivation.

Factors such as the level of commitment to an organization, its values, and goals, the exhibition of the company to colleagues and clients through communication and assistance are what engagement is comprised of (Robinson, 2004).

An alternative definition is that engagement is a commitment that is not required by the organization through work contracts they offer their employees yet out of the intent, a form of a psychological contract is offered. This contract is not written down or influenced by

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characteristics such as trust and the relationship between the employee and their organization (Beardwell and Thompson, 2014).

Saks (2006) states that engagement is not an attitude, that it is a degree to which individuals or employees are attentive and absorbed in the performance of their roles. Following this, (May, 2004) distinct engagement from involvement in the sense that engagement has more to do with how an employee conducts themselves in a role of work execution and job involvement is the result of cognitive judgment about the ability of the job to satisfy one's needs and therefore, their self-image.

It is important to note that an employees engagement varies according to how they the feel obligated to their organization and depending on the organization's respect, openness and transparency, the employee will decide how much of themselves they give to the organization (Beardwell and Thompson, 2014).

An organization is less favorable when it does not honor its agreements or contracts resulting in employees withholding their loyalty or engagement. This might also result in reduced actual performance, the quality of work and intermediate relationships with colleagues or clients (Beardwell and Thompson, 2014), (Robinson, 2004) and (May et al, 2004).

Employees feel obliged to bring themselves more deeply into their role performances as repayment for the resources they receive from their organization, therefore, employees are more likely to disengage and withdraw from their roles when these resources are no longer provided by an organization (Kahn, 1990).